The town of Prescott in central northern Arizona is sited at an elevation of 5,300 feet amidst one of the largest contiguous forests of ponderosa pines in the world. The mining town was officially founded in 1864 and named after the historian William Hickling Prescott. Arizona also became an independent territory in the same year and Prescott was chosen to be its capital. However Prescott's capital claim was shortlived with the title transferring to Tucson in 1867, and subsequently to Phoenix in 1889. With it's gold mining and large cattle ranching operations the town soon became notorious as a haven for hard drinking cowboys. By the early 1900s, some 40 saloons are believed to have lined Montezuma Street or Whiskey Row as it was better known. The Palace is not only one of the last surviving saloons of Whiskey Row, but it's also the oldest surviving frontier saloon in Arizona. The Palace first opened its doors in 1877 and in the later part of the 1870s was frequented by Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday.

Unfortunately wooden towns notoriously suffer from fires and Prescott was no exception with the most famous of these occurring in 1900. The blaze destroyed much of downtown Gurley Street and Whiskey Row - The Palace included. Although the original ornately carved Brunswick Bar was removed and carried to safety by patrons. The stone and block buildings that stand today in downtown Prescott were built following the great fire. Amongst them is the rebuilt Palace which re-opened in 1901 and although dining facilities have been added in recent years the place is very much as it was originally.

A number of Hollywood movies have used the Palace as a location setting - these include Wanda Nevada starring Peter Fonda and Brook Shields and Sam Peckinah's Junior Bonner starring Steve McQueen. The latter was centred around Prescott's famous rodeo - the oldest continuously running rodeo in the world. Prescott first attracted the interest of the movie industry in 1912 and still continues to do so today. View images of Prescott Menu: here.wildlife,
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